Feed mechanism for skewer-machines.



'PATBNTED JULY 14, 1903.

0. P. BECK.

FEED MECHANISM FOR SKEWER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1902.

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No. 733,363. PATENTED JULY 14, 1903. O. P. BECK.

FEED MEOHANISM POR SKEWER MACHINES. APPLIOATIOR FILED NOV. 19, 1902. no menu. z sums-s1mm 2.

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PATENT OEEICE.

OLIVER P. BECK, OF MURPHYSBORO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WOLF, SAYER AND HELLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A FIRM.

FEED MECHANISM FOR SKEWER-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 733,363, dated. July 14, 1903.

Application filed November 19, 1902. Serial No. 182.020. No model.)

To (l/ZZ whom it puny concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER P. BECK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Murphysboro, in the county of Jackson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful ImprovementsinFeedMechanismforSkewer- Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming to a part hereof.

Myinvention has relation to improvements in feed mechanism for skewer-machines or woodworking-machines generally; and it consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure-1 is a front elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a top plan thereof. Fig. 3 is a side elevation. Fig. at is a longitudinal vertical section on line a 4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a rear elevation thereof.

The present invention is a qualified construction of the feed mechanism shown and described in my pending application, filed October 9, 1902, Serial No. 126,575, and like it is specially adapted for use in connection with the skewermachine shown and described in my pending application on skewermachines, filed February 14, 1902, Serial No.

94,072. The qualification referred to adapts the present device to the manipulation and handling of stock which happens not to be uniform as to cross-section, the improvement being capable of operating on cylindrical as well as flattened pieces, and this without affecting the substantial uniformity of the final product or skewer or destroying the uniformity of feed of the several stock-pieces to the cutters. In the pending application, Serial No. 126,575, referred to it is not only essential but necessary that the original stockpieces shall be uniformly cylindrical, since should a flat piece come between two contiguous cylindrical or round pieces itis liable in its advance between the feed-belts to be so presented as to separate the belts a distance sufficient to cause the release of the next succeeding stock-piece, permitting the latter to drop upon the flat piece, when the two (or sometimes more) will roll over each other, and a cluster of them will simultaneously be fed to the gripping-surfaces formed between the feed-disks and their abutments, causing the cutters to cut into such cluster, (instead of one stock-piece at a time) and thereby producing imperfect skewers. This objection is wholly eliminated from the present improvement, which in detail may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, F represents 0 the upper portion of the machine-frame upon which the device is mounted. As in the pending applications referred to, the cuttershaft 1 is operated from the main drive-shaft, (not herein shown,) the cutter-heads 2 being disposed alongsaid shaft 1 between the series of abutments3and therubberti red disks 4, between which the stock is gripped during the cutting operation. These parts are herein merely referred to, and no detailed description thereof is here attempted, since the present invention is concerned only with the feed mechanism up to the point of delivery of the stock to the disks 4 and their I cooperating abutments 3. Theintermediate connections between the main drive-shaft and the shaft 5, carrying the disks 4, are herein also omitted, since those connections belong to the cutting-machine proper and have nothing to do with the present feeding attach- 8o ment.

Mounted at one end of the shaft 5 is a sprocket wheel 6, over which passes a sprocket chain 7, impart-ing motion to a smallersprocket-wheel 8 at the adjacent end of a belt-conveyor shaft 9, similar to the construction shown in the pending application, Serial No. 126,575, referred to.

On the shaft 9 are mounted a pulley 10 and pulleys 11 11 on either side thereof. Over the former passes a fluted advancing and feed belt 12 and over the latter pass the conveyerbelts 13 13, the several belts all passing over corresponding pulleys 10 11 11 on a rear shaft 14, as best seen in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. The exposed face of the belt 12 is fluted or corrugated, the corrugations or grooves being parallel and disposed transverse to the direction of travel of the belt. The shaft 14:18 mounted in bearings 15, carried bya bracket B, which surmounts the frame F. Thebelt 12 likewise passes over a roller or pulley 16,

mounted in the forked bracket 17, which is secured to a longitudinal bar 18. The latter is parallel to the face-plate or abutment 19 and is secured thereto and separated a suitable distance therefrom by the terminal spacing-blocks 20, the securing-bolts 21 passing through the blocks and through the bar. As seen in Fig. 4, the vertical corrugated lap of the belt 12 hugs the adjacent surface of the face-plate, the stock S being delivered by the corrugations directly to the gripping-surfaces formed between the abutments 3 and disks 4. The horizontal laps of the belts are confined between the walls of a trough T, mounted on top of the bracket B, the stock S being confined between the walls of the trough, as is obvious, and the upper laps of the belts traveling over the bottom of said trough. In the drawings the arrows show the relative direction of travel of the mechanism. To the faceplate are secured the central curved guide-strip 22 and the straight guide-strips 23, disposed on either side thereof.

The operation may briefly be adverted to as follows: Rotation being imparted to the mechanism, as indicated by the arrows, the operator deposits a handful or more of the stock-pieces S into the trough, distributing them along the grooves of the belt 12, as indicated in the drawings, the stock being in that position virtually supported by the conveyer-belts 13 13, the upper surface of the latter being substantially on a level with the bases of the corrugations of the belt 12. Though practically all the belts travel at the same speed and jointly serve to convey the stock to the space between the vertical feed-lap of the belt 12 and the face-plate 1!), yet the corrugations are depended upon not only to space the stock-pieces evenly and uniformly apart, but to assist in the positive forwarding of the stock as it is conveyed by the belts 13 13. Upon leaving the belts 13 13 the stock is immediately delivered (being all the while supported by the groovesof the belt 12) to the space between the vertical lap of the belt 12 and the adjacent surface of the rigid face-plate 19, in which passage the individual stock-pieces are still retained their proper distance apart, when, as the belt turns the periphery of the roller 16, it discharges each successive stick into the mouth of the gripping-surfaces of the disks at and their abutments 3, being there severed by the cut.- ters in the manner of my pending applications referred to, so that the several sticks are fed to the cutters successively, and under no circumstances can any undesirable cluster of sticks drop between the grippingsurfaces aforesaid no matter what the shape of the stock may be or whether it be uniform or not.

It is to be understood, of course, that the present feed mechanism is applicable to any class of woodworking-machines. It is further to be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details here shown, as they may in a measure be departed from without in any wise affecting the nature or spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A feed mechanism comprising a series of traveling horizontal conveyer-belts, a fluted advancing and feed belt forming a member of said series and having a horizontal lap traveling in unison with the conveyer-belts, and a vertical lap, a face-plate or abutment located in proximity to said vertical lap, whereby the stock is seized and uniformly delivered between the abutment and said vertical lap, devices located at the discharge end of the vertical lap for gripping the stockpieces, and means for cutting the stock, substantially as set forth.

2. A feed mechanism comprising a series of traveling horizontal conveyer-belts, a fluted advancing and feed belt forming a member of said series and having a horizontal lap traveling in unison with the conveyer-belts, and a vertical lap, a face-plate or abutment located in proximity to said vertical lap, whereby the stock is seized and uniformly delivered between the abutment and said vertical lap, a series of disks and abutments forming gripping-surfaces located beneath the discharge end of the vertical lap of the fluted belt, and means for cutting the stock while passing said gripping-surfaces, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OLIVER P. BECK.

\Vitnesses:

EMIL STAREK, G. L. BELFRY. 

